Masters champ Scott set for U.S. Open

Masters title has Aussie in enviable position

Adam Scott is paired with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy for the first two rounds at Merion.

Adam Scott is paired with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy for the first two rounds at Merion.

Photo: Andrew Redington, Getty Images

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Adam Scott, of Australia, signs autographs after putting on the fourth green during practice for the U.S. Open golf tournament at Merion Golf Club, Wednesday, June 12, 2013, in Ardmore, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) less

Adam Scott, of Australia, signs autographs after putting on the fourth green during practice for the U.S. Open golf tournament at Merion Golf Club, Wednesday, June 12, 2013, in Ardmore, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. ... more

Photo: Gene J. Puskar, Associated Press

Masters champ Scott set for U.S. Open

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ARDMORE, Pa. - Barely more than two months ago, Adam Scott arrived at Augusta National as a prominent member of a dubious golf species.

He stood alongside Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, Justin Rose and Matt Kuchar, among other big-name players. They were, reluctantly but indisputably, The Best Players Without a Major Victory.

This week, Scott came to Merion in another realm. Now he has a green jacket in his closet, not to mention Thursday and Friday tee times alongside Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in the 113th U.S. Open.

There's some tidy symmetry at work in this group, which will tee off - Mother Nature permitting - at 10:14 a.m. PDT in Thursday's first round. USGA officials started putting the world's top three players together in the 2008 Open at Torrey Pines, when Woods, Phil Mickelson and Scott topped the rankings.

That threesome attracted massive galleries in two days on the bluffs above the Pacific Ocean in San Diego. All those spectators didn't exactly come to see Scott - a scenario he expects again the next two days, even in the wake of his Masters triumph in April.

"I'm probably the third wheel this week, as well," he said. "That's why I'm No. 3 in the world - otherwise I wouldn't be the third wheel, I guess."

It's still nice company, to hang with Woods and McIlroy at America's national championship. Scott always had the sweet swing - he outplayed Woods and Mickelson, tee to green, during their '08 Open rounds - but he needed a broomstick putter (still allowed, for now) and some painful major moments before he could join the game's elite class.

Scott's memorable meltdown in last year's British Open, when he finished with four consecutive bogeys and fell to Ernie Els, seemed to punctuate his long history of frustration on the biggest stages (47 consecutive majors without a win). Then he bounced back, just as memorably, by shooting 69-69 on the weekend at Augusta in April.

His final round included a birdie on No. 18, prompting an animated if premature celebration. Angel Cabrera followed with his own 72nd-hole birdie, but Scott sank a clutch putt on the second playoff hole to finally give Australia a Masters champion.

Merion is the antithesis of Augusta National in many ways: short and narrow, with smothering rough and smaller greens. Scott still hopes the exuberance of April somehow translates to June.

"The challenges this week are somewhat different than those you face at Augusta," he said. "But, hopefully, the experience of coming down the stretch and ultimately winning will hold me in good stead the next time I get that chance - and I'm aiming for that to be Sunday. ...

"I'm looking forward to seeing how I feel playing for the first time in a major after having won, to see if there's less pressure or if I'm going to put more pressure on myself. I don't really know. It's a very exciting time in my career."

Scott, 32, didn't use his Masters win to blaze a Bubba Watson-like trail across the planet's television screens. He already had commitments the week after Augusta, so he went on only one TV show in Australia and one in the United States ("CBS This Morning").

That fit his low-key personality, happily staying in the background.

"I try to entertain people on the golf course, not on talk shows," Scott said.

He also kept a low profile on tour in the weeks after the Masters, surfacing only for the Players Championship, in which he tied for 19th, and the Memorial Tournament (tie for 13th). This was by design, and has its roots in his pedestrian history in majors.

Scott made a strategic decision at the end of the 2010 season. He had played in 39 majors at the time, with four top-10 finishes and no great chances to win. So he became more selective about when and where he played, often choosing to practice at home and focus on peaking for the majors.

Since then, Scott has posted five top-10s in nine majors, including his breakthrough victory at Augusta.

"I'd had enough of not playing well enough in the big events when I felt I could," he said. "So, I had to do something different. If it's broke, you've got to fix it."

Scott fixed it, all right - and earned himself another whirl as golf's third wheel. He will not complain.